adminyesterday after coming under a barrage of rocket fire from government forces.
The rebels’ advance five days ago to the outskirts of the small town of Bir al-Ghanam had raised the possibility of a breakthrough in a four-month old conflict that has become the bloodiest of the “Arab Spring” uprisings.
Rebel fighters who had been massing on a ridge near Bir al-Ghanam and preparing for an attack were now pulling back under fire from Russian-made Grad rockets, said a Reuters photographer in Bir-Ayyad, 30km to the south.
He said the rocket barrage was now reaching as far back as Bir-Ayyad, a road junction in the foothills of the Western Mountains range south-west of Tripoli from where the rebels had launched their advance last week.
The reverse underlines the resilience of Gaddafi’s forces, who have withstood 15 weeks of bombardment by Nato missiles and warplanes, and attempts by rebels on three fronts to break through their lines.
Frustration at the slow progress is growing inside the military alliance, with some members worried about the cost, civilian casualties, and the fact the campaign has now been going on much longer than its backers anticipated.
There are also differences about how proactive Nato members should be in aiding the rebels, who are hampered by a lack of organisation and a shortage of equipment.
France this week became the first member of the anti-Gaddafi alliance to acknowledge that it had supplied weapons to the rebels, saying this was justified to protect civilians under threat from Gaddafi’s forces.
It said it used parachutes to drop assault rifles and rocket launchers, along with humanitarian supplies, to rebels in the Western mountains.
That admission prompted Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to accuse France of a “gross violation” of a UN arms embargo.
Even France’s Nato allies distanced themselves from the French operation, though Britain and the United States said they believed it was justified under UN rules.
Gaddafi has said the Nato campaign is an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya’s plentiful oil resources.
His aides say arrest warrants issued on Monday by the International Criminal Court for him, his son and his brother-in-law have no legitimacy because the court is a tool of the West.
Gaddafi’s daughter, Aisha, said in a television interview broadcast late on Thursday that her father’s administration was prepared to cut a deal with the rebels if that was what it took to stop the bloodshed. – Reuters.
Online Reporter